No-Prep Snacks! 5 Ideas

When your kids need snacks, unless you are in the mood for some kitchen time, these no-prep snacks are your answer!

Kids need snacks. At meal time, it isn’t likely they are going to eat very much food at one sitting. In fact, chances are they may eat very little. We look at snacks as a way to fill the gap in essential nutrients they need. When my kids say they are hungry, we assess together what they are missing from their diet that day. We will often say, “Have you had any veggies today? Have you had any protein today,” etc. This directs where our snacks will go. If they say they haven’t had any veggies, the likely thing to do will be to eat some vegetables for their snack! We’ve done this for years. In fact, it is one of the first posts I ever wrote on this blog here.

So, fast forward to now, my kids are very independent. They get most of their own foods. I find it helpful to give them ideas however, and to have the food in the pantry or fridge for snacks that I approve of. Some of my kids favorite snacks, are also some of the easiest ones! These snacks literally require no recipe, and very little prep. These are some of our faves:

Carrot Sticks and Laughing Cow Cheese

We’ve never been sponsored by laughing cow- haha. That isn’t why I recommend this cheese brand. I recommend it because we are addicted to it! Truly, super yummy when dipped with carrot sticks.

Hummus and Carrots/Celery

Rye Crackers with String Cheese

Crackers are tricky. You can always make your own so you know exactly what you are getting, but there are also some brands that are pretty good. Just check labels and keep the number of ingredients down, as well as the number of chemicals and preservatives!

Bananas and Pretzels

And, it’s OK to make a snack fun! So many parents complain they don’t have time to make food fun, but I’m certainly not here to tell you to make time. What I will say though, is the kids enjoy doing this! You don’t have to spend time while they watch a TV show to prep the food for them. Show them this picture below, and let THEM get to work! I promise, they’ll enjoy making and eating what they create!